Article from: Property 24
28 May 2009

A herb garden can be as large and complex, or as small and simple as you like, depending on the amount of space you want to allow for it and how you choose to organise it.

In a large garden, for instance, you can create a separate, formal herb garden, laid out in a traditional pattern. While in smaller gardens, the herbs can be intermingled with borders of flowers and vegetables for a more decorative effect. Even on a patio, pots and troughs planted with a selection of aromatic herbs make a delightful and unusual addition. A wide selection of herbs can be grown in pots indoors and in window boxes, so even if you have no garden at all, you can still enjoy the pleasure of fresh herbs.

Growing herbs indoors

A sunny window in the kitchen is the most practical place for growing herbs indoors. The fresh leaves are immediately available to the cook and the green plants themselves provide a welcome and apt addition to the decor. Some herbs, such as parsley, tarragon and winter savoury, are attractive enough not to seem unduly out of place when grouped with more conventional pot plants.

Not all herbs are suitable for indoor cultivation, but many of the most commonly used and best known will thrive in pots. Some herbs, including parsley, dill and basil, can be raised from seed in the late summer, preferably outdoors, and then transferred to pots inside for autumn and winter supplies. Other herbs, such as marjoram, sage, rosemary, mint and chives are best grown from cuttings or divisions taken in the autumn. However, even perennials will not last forever indoors, and to ensure a constant supply, it is best to take fresh cuttings each year.

Use good potting compost and crock the pots well to allow for drainage. It is a good idea to stand the pots on moist gravel in a shallow tray to keep the soil from drying out. Then simply water the plants regularly and keep them away from draughts.

Patio and window boxes

The range of herbs that can be grown in containers outdoors is much larger. As most of them are renowned for their fine foliage – some bear colourful and rather pretty flowers – they can create an eye-catching display. Virtually any kind of container is suitable for growing herbs, with the exception of hanging baskets. Individual pots in appropriate sizes can be used for herbs, such as lemon balm, caraway, dill, coriander, chervil, sage and marjoram. Larger plants, such as bay trees, can be grown in tubs.

Special parsley pots are particularly attractive and can also be used indoors. These are tall, cylindrical, terracotta pots with a series of openings in the sides, through which individual plants grow. A miniature herb garden planted in a window box or trough is not only decorative but, with careful planning, can provide almost all your culinary needs. Old fashioned glazed sinks provide a cheap and practical substitute for expensive, custom-made stone troughs. These old sinks can often be sound in second-hand and junk shops and they are more commonly used for growing alpines and rock plants.

The sink can be left in its natural state or it can be camouflaged to create an attractive "stone" container. Mix together one part sand, one part cement and two parts peat and then add enough water to give a stiff consistency. Coat the outside of the sink with a strong adhesive and leave until tacky. Spread the prepared mixture over the adhesive, using a trowel, and leave the surface as it is to simulate stone. When the coating is dry, cover the drainage hole with rocks and fill the container with fairly rich garden soil or good compost. Suitable herbs for growing in a sink garden include borage, summer savoury, sage, mint, basil and parsley.

Herb borders

Herbs grow very successfully intermingled with other garden plants. Their cultivation requirements are fairly undemanding and they need little in the way of special treatment. They prefer a sunny position and will grow well on most soils, but do best on a light, well-drained, alkaline soil. A single application of a general all-purpose fertiliser in spring and a light topdressing of lime in autumn, will keep them in good condition. Follow the same general rules for planting, thinning, watering and so on, as you would for other biennials and perennials.

Low-growing and spreading herbs are ideal for planting in this way, but take care that they are not overshadowed by taller plants. Lemon thyme, tarragon, mint and other herbs that spread very rapidly are excellent in beds planted with tall flowers as they quickly proved weed-suppressing ground cover. In fact, they spread so easily and so fast that you may need to surround them with slates or some other form of barrier sunk in the soil to prevent them over-running and strangling neighbouring plants.

Herbs planted among vegetables add colour and beauty to this less attractive part of the garden. An especially good combination is the classic culinary mixture of basil and tomatoes. Not only is this very convenient for harvesting, but basil is reputed to keep away pests. You can take advantage of the sweet scent of the leaves by planting sage or thyme in the borders beside lawn or between paving stones, so whenever you walk on them or mow the lawn, the bruised leaves will yield an enchanting aroma.

A formal herb garden

A formally arranged herb garden offers immense decorative opportunities to the creative gardener, as well as plenty of scope to the imaginative cook. A wide range of herbs can be grown, including some of the more unusual ones, such as caraway, lovage, fennel, angelica, horse-radish and cumin. In addition, you can plant some of the more decorative varieties of common herbs, such as variegated sage and golden thyme.

A gently sloping site in a sheltered past of the garden is ideal. Herbs do best in warm, still air, so to provide protection and to delineate the area, it is a good idea to surround the herb garden with a hedge. Rosemary is both pretty and practical for this purpose, otherwise lavender and sage are good alternatives. There are a number of traditional methods for laying out a herb garden and there are numerous other possibilities too. Before you start, however, it is well worth planning the beds and their contents in detail on paper first. Bear in mind such factors as the amount of space available, the heights of the plants, the juxtaposition of colours, paths and means of access.

There are three basic approaches popularly used for planting a herb garden. It can be botanically orientated, planned thematically or designed purely for visual beauty. The botanic approach has been favoured in many public gardens, but may not be fully satisfying for the amateur gardener. The aim is to grow a comprehensive collection of herbs arranged in their natural order. Each bed is devoted to one order of plants and includes a wide range of individual specimens. This method requires a lot of space, however, and may not be practical if you simply want a good supply of herbs for cooking.

The thematic approach is very much a matter of personal taste and requirements. For example, you could confine your choice entirely to one type of herb, such as medicinal. Alternatively, you might plant several separate beds, each containing a different type – one culinary, one medicinal, one aromatic and one flowering. Famous thematic herb gardens have been created on the basis of growing only those herbs mentioned in the Bible on in the works of Shakespeare. Some have been recreations of medieval, monastic gardens, while others have the herbs arranged to spell out a name or message.

A herb garden designed solely for its visual appeal is, perhaps, the most delightful and rewarding of all. The beds are shaped to form a pattern, such as a chessboard or a spoked wheel. The herbs are then planted with the deliberate intention of displaying the most pleasing combination of colours and textures. The chessboard pattern is very popular and fairly easy to do. Prepare small square beds in staggered rows for the herbs. Strictly speaking, there should be 32 squares in total, but absolute accuracy is not essential. Either pave the spaces in between to create the "white" squares of the board, or sow them with camomile. Afterwards, plant a different herb in each of the other beds.

Other patterns, such as the wheel, are rather more ambitious and require careful planning, preparation and measuring of shaped beds and paths. Often a central focal feature, such as a sundial or statue, can be incorporated into the design to enhance the overall effect. – Antonella Dési